Besides serving as a hobby, gardening can help you to save money, as well as, creating a more beautiful home. Whether you want to plant flowers, vegetables, fruits, or all three, there are definite benefits to starting a garden. Read this article for some tips on how to successfully maintain a garden and reap the benefits.
If you have a vegetable garden and plan on eating the vegetables, you should inspect them carefully every week. Look for bugs and worms or traces of disease and damages. Do not eat a vegetable that does not look healthy. Make sure you wash your vegetables carefully before you cook them.
To discourage garden pests of the rodent variety from eating your beautiful perennial flowers and tasty vegetables, brush your dog or cat and use bits of the accumulated hair near the base of the plants being bothered. Garden rodents such as moles, gophers, rabbits and chipmunks can smell a predator and while your little Yorkie may not look like much of a threat, it only takes his scent to ward off the garden troublemakers. Don’t have a dog or cat to brush? Volunteer to brush a neighbor’s pet for the cause!
Get the most out of garden space by growing compatible crops. When growing a crop like tomatoes, plant lettuce and spinach in between to grow in the shade of the taller plants. This will maximize the space used in the garden. Also, grow plants which mature at different times alongside each other like carrots and radishes. The radishes will be ready in only thirty days while it takes much longer for the carrots to mature.
Use stones as plant markers if you want to keep a natural looking motif. You can write with permanent magic marker on the flat side of stones and surround your plant with them. That way you will be able to tell what type of plants you have without having an unsightly white mark.
Do not kill the spiders in your garden. Spiders prey on other insects and can keep unwanted bugs under control. They are a natural source of control for common garden pests. When you see a spider, you should leave him alone to do its job. This will reduce your need for insecticides in your garden.
Utilize proper tools and keep them in tip-top shape to lessen the stress on your body when you’re gardening. Spades and hoes should be periodically sharpened to keep them working at their best. If you have the space, choose tools such as long handled spades that allow you to stand while working. The better you feel after gardening, the more often you’ll enjoy getting your hands dirty!
To avoid injuring yourself while gardening, be sure to do some warm-up stretches before starting your project. Most people may not think of gardening as exercise, but injuries like pulled muscles frequently occur in the garden. You should also be sure to move around and not stay in one position for a long period of time.
To cut down on the time you spend pruning and pulling weeds, make sure that all the tools you use are sharpened and cleaned. A dull or dirty tool will make basic gardening tasks much more challenging, and can significantly increase the work you have to put into your garden. Caring for your tools regularly is more than worth the effort it takes.
Go green and try to conserve as much water as possible in your garden. One way to do this is to take the water from steaming or boiling vegetables and water your plants with it. The enriched water also has the benefit of acting as a fertilizer and will give your plants a boost.
When you are transplanting a plant, do not pile the soil higher than the top of the root. A root crown that is always wet will eventually rot. Plant it in a way, where the water will drain away from the stem. If the water runs toward the plant, it will wash more soil onto the top of the root, causing root rot.
Make use of a ground cover, such as mulch or hay. Be sure when you are purchasing your ground cover, that it is also organic, as any chemicals contained in the mulch or hay can be absorbed by your plants. Organic ground coverings will protect the roots of your plants and help prevent water evaporation.
You should place human hair in netting around your garden to deter animals from eating your growing produce. The scent of humans can deter animals from coming near an area. When you get a hair cut place the cut hair into satchels made from netting. Hang the netting around your garden to ward off pests.
When lifting heavy things in your garden it is important to protect your back. You should always lift with your knees when you are lifting anything in the garden. If something is very heavy you should ask someone to help you lift it so that you do not cause damage to your back or knees.
Do not waste your time and energy carrying a hose that is hard to put away. Get a couple or hose reels to keep your hose neat. You can get a stationary hose reel to keep your hose on a wall, but you can also find portable hose reels if you want to carry your hose around your garden.
A great tip when starting your own organic garden is to always space your seeds in the mix as evenly as you can. If you do this, it will ensure that every single one of your seeds has an equal amount of room to grow in the most optimum way.
While growing your own fruits and vegetables can save you money on produce and cut grocery costs, growing flowers can give you a sense of pride. Watching something grow when you have taken care to protect it, can make you feel useful. Remember the tips in this article to start your own garden today.